Mandamus

Mandamus is an adimus based skill that involves speaking certain words which cause an immediate physical reaction depending on the intentions of the person. Mandamus, in ancient Mendalian language means "to command."

Mandamus is by far the harder of the two adimus abilities. It requires strength of will, determination, and above all a belief that what you speak will indeed happen. Mandamus is truly an exercise of faith.

All mandamus phrases start with the word "Mittius" which translates to "In Elohim's name." Without this primer, mandamus will not work.

History

Mandamus came into existence at the beginning of the TS era with the appointment of the first Fantasma, Marius Fantas. He was the first person able to use mandamus and his first mandamus command "Mittius Mandamus Mocomon Levrious Tacktorinate" (roughly translated In the name of Elohim I command this mountain to move) was what moved the largest mountain in the Lumarian mountain range to the isthmus between the southern and northern continents. This mountain was henceforth known as Fantasmal Mountain and is the home of the Fantasma and his staff.

The Fantasma began teaching mandamus to others, but it became apparent that it was far more difficult to learn than mentus was. Only a handful of people were truly dedicated to the art and it took them over a hundred years before they had truly mastered it. This dedication to both mandamus and to the Fantasma did not go unnoticed. Because of their loyalty to the new Fantasmal Government these people were made into the first guardians and granted additional power by the Fantasma. Guardians have always been one of the highest respected positions in Mendalian society.

Mandamus was considered so difficult that for several centuries it was not offered as an option for adimus education.  The only way a person could learn it was to become an apprentice under a guardian. Then in 1094 TS, a guardian by the name of Terrell Williamson devised a standard set of mandamus commands that he used to teach his apprentices. These commands, if learned correctly would use all of a person's available adimus. If they mastered his standard set, Williamson would allow them to go to the Fantasma to consider guardianship. Williamson's method proved to be extremely successful and the Fantasma adopted the standard set for use by all guardians in training their apprentices. In 1601 TS several schools started offering mandamus studies as an option. In 39,100 TS after the Common Language was established, the standard mandamus set was adjusted to include Common Language words.

Spiritual References

Mandamus was instituted by a promise of Elohim to Marius Fantas. When Marius was chosen to be the first Fantasma by the epouranal mages, he was taken to the tallest mountain in Lumaria and was told by them that in order to prove that he was indeed the new leader, he had to move the mountain to the isthmus between Lumaria and Candovia.

Not only was this impossible to do with mentus, but Marius was a slave, and was never taught mentus anyway. However Marius was a great man of faith, so when faced with this impossible task, he called out to Elohim for help. It is said that on that day, Elohim answers and said to Marius, "If you have faith even as small as a grain of sand, you can speak to this mountain and command it in My name to move, and it will do so; for nothing is impossible for Me so when you speak in My name, nothing will be impossible for you."

So Marius believed the words that were spoken to him and commanded, "Mittius Mandamus Mocomon Levrious Tacktorinate," which meant "In the name of Elohim, I command this mountain to move." This statement caused the mountain to be instantly transported to the isthmus between Lumaria and Candovia. After this Marius heard further from Elohim. "This is the power that you and anyone you teach can have, but you and your successors shall forever be the greatest of these. From this day forth you will are no longer Marius Fantas; you shall hence forth be known as Fantasma." After this, the epouranals officially dubbed Marius the leader of Mendala, the Fantasma, which means "Greatest Servant."

The Fantasma was the first to teach mandamus, however it was exponentially harder to learn than mentus. This was because mentus is simply asking something from the realm of the heavens whereas mandamus is commanding in the name of Elohim. This requires faith that what you say will happen exactly the way you want it to. Over the centuries as more and more people developed the skills to use mandamus, learning it became slightly easier, however it continues to be much harder to master than mentus.

Mandamus Classifications

Mandant-Non

A mandant-non is usually a person who started on the path of a guardian by learning only mandamus but prematurely left mandamus studies for any number of reasons and learned some mentus in order to pursue another career path which required mentus. Mandant-nons know at least half of the standard mandamus command set and can use these skills in many of the jobs a regular mandant can pursue such as working under the Fantasma, military work, and jobs dealing with security or policing. In addition they can pursue several mentant related occupations as well.

Although anyone can purposefully become a mandant-non, this is hardly ever the case, and there is a certain amount of stigma attached to this classification because mandant-nons have failed to reach the level of guardian, usually after several decades of work. In professions where adimus classification is important, mandant-nons wear mandant-purple robes with mentant-blue belts or sashes.

Mandant

A mandant is a person who learns only mandamus. In almost all cases, this is because they are striving to become a guardian. Though anyone can become a mandant, less than 1% of the population has this classification. This is because mandamus study is extremely difficult and offers very few career options. In many cases, mandants are incapable of completing the mandamus training that is required to become a guardian. In addition, even if a person successfully completes standard mandamus studies, there is no guarantee they will be chosen to become a guardian as this is at the discretion of the Fantasma.

Mandants who have completed standard mandamus but are not yet or never will be guardians usually work for the Fantasma or have high level political, spiritual, or military positions. Mandants still working through standard mandamus studies have careers that involve working in spiritual houses or in security. Mandants are considered almost as strong as mind mages. Mandants always where mandant-purple robes with white belts or sashes.

Guardian

A guardian is a mandant who has been granted a higher level of adimus energy by the Fantasma. With this increase in adimus energy there is also a shift of how this energy works. A guardian's adimus energy becomes similar to a mentant's, which means not only do they have more adimus energy, but are able to use all of their adimus energy in all of their mandamus, instead of each mandamus technique permanently reserving a portion of their adimus. This, in effect, makes guardians extremely powerful. It would take at least ten mind mages to equal the power of one guardian.

Only the Fantasmal can turn a mandant into a guardian, and this is completely at his discretion. Though guardians are immensely powerful, they have one role, and that is to serve the Fantasma.  Guardians perform many duties for the Fantasma all across Mendala. They are respected by all and are considered extremely wise in both spiritual and practical matters. A guardian always wears a mandant-purple robe with a silver belt.

Fantasma

The Fantasma is the leader of Mendala. In addition the Fantasma is the most powerful person on the planet with the possible exception of the epouranal mages. The Fantasma is a guardian, however unlike normal guardians, they possess the knowledge, powers, and abilities of every Fantasma that has come before them. Thus each Fantasma is more powerful than the last.

When a Fantasma dies or retires, the epouranal mages come together and choose a new Fantasma from among the pool of guardians. The ceremony that transfers the Fantasmal power has never been witnessed by outsiders. Retired Fantasmas still maintain their original guardian powers but usually do not remain in service under the new Fantasma. The Fantasma is always referred to as "Fantasma" and always wears a mandant-purple robe with gold belt.

Learning Mandamus

Like mentus, mandamus can be used to perform a variety of tasks. The difference is that wording and inflection is far more important in mandamus because it is spoken. Unlike mentus, the exact same mandamus command can have hundreds of different effects. For example the mandamus command "Mittius Mandamus Fire" could be used to make a camp fire, light torches, or simply make a person warm. Mandamus is extremely hard to master and it is considerably easier to do the same tasks with mentus.  However mandamus is far more powerful and versatile. It is often used to supplement mentus. if a person does not wish to become a mind mage, they usually learn some mandamus to accomplish the tasks that mentus alone cannot do. In general, a person does not choose a mandant path unless they aspire to be a guardian.

Those who wish to become guardians must make the decision at a young age. They must choose at 13-years-old if they will make the ultimate commitment to devote their entire lives to the service of the Fantasma. This is a very daunting decision, and very few people choose this route. Of those that do attempt it, over 60% quit before the end of the first year. Less than 5% of those who choose a mandant path successfully learn all standard mandamus. The rest end up as mentant-nons or mandant-nons.

It usually takes over 100 years to master the standard mandamus set. Even after all this, there is no guarantee of becoming a guardian, as this is the sole discretion of the Fantasma.  Usually a mandant who wants the rank of guardian must study in Fantasmal Mountain for at least a decade after learning standard mandamus. They not only have to be proficient in mandamus but also in spiritual studies. Before being made a guardian, mandant must prove to be faithful, moral, disciplined, and above all have a servant's heart. Once they achieve the rank, they are in service to the Fantasma.

Mandants who do not become guardians usually pursue military, government, or spiritual careers, depending on their background and expertise.

See Also:

• Adimus
• Standard Mandamus